News

First regulatory affairs & services grads to be honored

Thursday, July 30, 2009

St. Cloud, Minn. – The first 12 graduates of the St. Cloud State University master’s degree in regulatory affairs and services (RAS) program will be honored during a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the university’s new Twin Cities Graduate Center in Maple Grove.

The graduates began evening and weekend classes at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park when the program was launched in September 2007. A second cohort of 19 students began classes there in fall 2008, but the third cohort will attend classes beginning this fall at the Twin Cities Graduate Center.

The regulatory affairs and services degree program ‒ the firstin the country to focus specifically on medical devices ‒ is designed to educate professionals to lead medical device companies through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international regulatory processes that ensure new medical devices are safe and effective, processes that are critical to getting a product to market.

The medical device industry has identified regulatory affairs and services as an occupation in acute need of more trained professionals, according to program director Charles "Chuck" Swanson, who during his 30 years in the industry played an influential role in establishing many of the guidelines and procedures in use today by the FDA. "TheRAS professional’s role is critical in the development, commercialization and manufacturing of medical devices and impacts nearly every aspect of a medical device businessfrom research and development to marketing and sales," Swanson said.